KURDISH NEWS WEEKLY BRIEFING, 24 – 30 SEPTEMBER 2016

1. Details of Öcalan’s September 11 meeting with his brother on İmralı2. Demirtas: EP could take initiatives for resolution process in Turkey.
3. Syrian Kurds demand recognition of Rojava federal project as condition to fight for Raqqa4. TEV-DEM calls for action against Turkish state’s massacres and attacks5. Final declaration of the KNK’s ‘Southern Kurdistan Workshop’ release6. Women in Shengal to organise under Êzidî Free Women’s Movement7. Kurds repel Islamic State attack on Manbij, deny death of American fighter8. Turkey Trying to ‘Break up Alliance Between US and Syrian Kurds’9. 12 Kurdish and Alevi TV stations closed in Turkey, as crackdown extended10. More trials pile up11. Turkey: IFJ/EFJ solidarity mission with journalists on trial

OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS1. Turkey’s “Illegal Invasion” of Syria: Operation “Euphrates Shield” Turns Into Operation “Occupation”2. It’s time for a new peace process between Turkey and the Kurds3. Georgi Dimov: The trends in Turkey’s economy are frightening4. Todenhöfer: Interview With Al-Nusra Commander “The Americans stand on our side”5. Foreign policy mishaps prove costly for Turkish contractors6. How a kick rattled Turkey7. Are US-Turkey military ties under threat?8. Are Ankara, Washington on collision course in Syria?9. Turkey’s State of Emergency and the March to One-Man Rule10. ‘Promoting our culture is every Kurds’ responsibility’

BOOK REVIEWReview of Abdullah Ocalan’s Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization BY Dr. Donald H. Matthews and Dr. Thomas Jeffrey Miley

PRESS RELEASEThe Freedom for Ocalan Campaign fringe meeting at Labour Party Conference on 27 September 2016 in Liverpool

CONFERENCES1. Solidarity message by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign to PYD 8th Congress held in Brussels

———————————–
NEWS1. Details of Öcalan’s September 11 meeting with his brother on İmralı29 September/ANF English
Mehmet Öcalan spoke to ANF regarding the messages given by his brother, Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, whom he met on September 11 after months of ban on communication within the scope of the isolation imposed upon him in line with pro-war policies pursued by the AKP / Palace against the Kurds.

Mehmet Öcalan said the Kurdish leader did not want to meet him when he was finally allowed access to İmralı on September 11. According to Mehmet Öcalan, it would take the Kurdish leader to come to the meeting scene just 5 minutes during their previous meetings throughout 18 years, but he came to see his brother 30-40 minutes later this time only after he was convinced by the administrators of the prison.Demirtaş: EP could take initiatives for resolution process in Turkey

Demirtas: EP could take initiatives for resolution process in Turkey.After the meeting with EP President Schulz, Demirtaş said: “The EP could take official initiatives regarding the peace and solution process in Turkey, and establish a commission on how a lasting solution can be reached.”

TEV-DEM calls for action against Turkish state’s massacres and attacks

28 September/ANF EnglishRojava’s Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) Executive Board issued a statement on the Turkish state’s massacres against Kurdish, Syriac, Assyrian, Arab and Turkmen people from Northern Syria.

The statement called attention to the ongoing barbaric attacks of the occupant Turkish state targeting the peoples of Northern Syria, saying: “AKP/Erdoğan dictator regime is attacking not only the Kurds but all the peoples and faith groups in Northern Syrian lands as well. The enmity of the AKP is essentially aimed at the free living of democratic societies and democratization of Syria, for which reason it utters threat and commits savagery against Northern Syria at every opportunity. Alongside its occupant forces, AKP is both supporting the gang groups such as Al-Nusra and FSA and using these in an immoral manner.

5. Final declaration of the KNK’s ‘Southern Kurdistan Workshop’ released
27 September/ANF EnglishFinal declaration of the ‘Southern Kurdistan Workshop’ Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) held in Kirkuk on September 23-24 has been released. In the final declaration, the activities of the newly formed commission and committee as well as the need to create solutions to the ongoing crisis and channel them to the society were emphasized.

6. Women in Shengal to organise under Êzidî Free Women’s Movement
28 September/ANF EnglishThe final declaration of the 2nd Women’s Conference held by Shengal Women’s Assembly on September 25 in Shengal Mountain has been published. The declaration states that Shengal Women’s Assembly has decided to organise under the name Êzidî Free Women’s Movement – Tavgera Azadiya Jinen Êzidxan and that they have formed an assembly and decided on a flag. The decision to fight for the freedom of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan was also taken in the conference.http://anfenglish.com/women/women-in-shengal-to-organise-under-ezidi-free-women-s-movement

7. Kurds repel Islamic State attack on Manbij, deny death of American fighter

8. Turkey Trying to ‘Break up Alliance Between US and Syrian Kurds’
26 September/Sputnik NewsMilitants of the Islamic State (ISIS) launched on Monday an offensive on the western countryside of Manbij city, in northern Syria, bombing a security checkpoint for the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The group said in a statement, released by the jihadi Amaq Agency, that nine Kurdish fighters and an American volunteer were killed in the attack.

9. 12 Kurdish and Alevi TV stations closed in Turkey, as crackdown extended
29 September/Middle East EyeA dozen Kurdish and Alevi TV channels were closed on Wednesday evening by the Turkish government with the crackdown following the failed 15 July coup attempt showing no sign of abating.

The channels closed include Zarok TV, Turkey’s first Kurdish-language children’s channel. The broadcasts were stopped on Wednesday night and have been removed from the TURKSAT satellite, an official in the Kurdish-majority southeastern city of Diyarbakir told AFP. Alevism is a heterodox sect of Shia Islam, whose adherents are thought to compose as much as a fifth of Turkey’s population and are split between ethnic Turks and Kurds.

10. More trials pile up
25 September/The sparkThe next day (Wednesday 21 September) we arrived at the Caglayan Court of Justice in Istanbul which was hearing 5 different prosecution cases against journalists. We were originally told that there would only be one! Again we were with the IFJ/EFJ affiliates TGS (Journalists Union of Turkey), DISK-Basin-Is (Journalists Union of Turkey from DISK) and TGC (Journalists Association of Turkey) to observe the following cases:

11. Turkey: IFJ/EFJ solidarity mission with journalists on trial
20 September/International Federation of JournalistsThe trial of Turkish journalists Ayse Düzkan, Ragip Duran, Hüseyin Akyol and Inan Kizilkaya started today at Istanbul court of justice. After 20 minutes’ hearing, the judges decided to merge this case with 20 other similar ones and postponed the hearing to 15 December 2016. The four journalists are charged with participating in a solidarity campaign with the Kurdish daily newspaper Özgür Gündem.

OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS1. Turkey’s “Illegal Invasion” of Syria: Operation “Euphrates Shield” Turns Into Operation “Occupation”
28 September/Global ResearchTurkey’s operation ‘Euphrates Shield’ that had originally begun as the operation to drive the Kurdish militias back to the eastern side of Euphrates River is now turning into a mission to create a ‘safe zone’ inside Syria to reinforce not only its own position in the region but also to buttress the Turkey-backed militias controlling the eastern part of Aleppo city.http://www.globalresearch.ca/turkeys-illegal-invasion-of-syria-operation-euphrates-shield-turns-into-operation-occupation/5548280

2. It’s time for a new peace process between Turkey and the Kurds
27 September/Washington PostPresident Obama’s special envoy on the Islamic State, Brett McGurk, got attention last week in New York from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his visit in February to the town of Kobani in Syria, the ultimate symbol of Kurdish resistance to the Islamic State. He received an award from the Kurdish fighters there — whom Erdogan considers terrorists.

Georgi Dimov: The trends in Turkey’s economy are frightening
27 September/FocusInternational agency Moody’s lowered Turkey’s credit rating. The reasons pointed out by the agency were the increased risks related to delayed reforms in the country, weaker economic growth, need of external financing, and unfavorable investment climate. This already happened with Standart & Poor’s credit rating of the country as well in July. Out of all large ratings agencies, only Fitch retained Turkey’s credit level at above junk status. We are also going to discuss the political problems in Turkey now with our guest Georgi Dimov, former consul general of Bulgaria in Edirne.http://www.focus-fen.net/opinion/2016/09/27/4503/georgi-dimov-the-trends-in-turkeys-economy-are-frightening.html

4. Todenhöfer: Interview With Al-Nusra Commander “The Americans stand on our side”
26 September/Moon of AlabamaIt was the seventh trip by my son Frederic and me to the civil war country Syria. We were there for 13 days. Words can only barely describe the extend of damage and suffering on both sides.

23 September/Al MonitorIn those good old days, billions of dollars’ worth of defense projects between the two countries moved forward despite minor hiccups and, financed by the International Military Education and Training Fund, hundreds of Turkish officers and noncommissioned officers went to the United States for training. Every year, the two sides carried out about 20 bilateral or multilateral exercises and maneuvers, organized high-level military summits, and they even awarded each other medals of outstanding service.http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/turkey-united-states-military-ties.html#ixzz4LjTW7apj

September 27/Lobe LogTurkey declared a “State of Emergency” (OHAL) on July 20, five days after the failed coup. It is to last for three months but can be extended at four-month intervals indefinitely if parliament agrees., Since it became a republic in 1923, Turkey has experienced one form or another of such extraordinary rule in stretches that add up to more than 40 years.

26 September/Kurdistan 24“Yad” (recollections) is the title of the new album released by Sweden-based Kurdish composer, singer, and songwriter Chia Madani. Consisting of nine songs, “Yad” uses expert musicians from Kurdistan, Tehran, and the diaspora.

BOOK REVIEWReview of Abdullah Ocalan’s Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization BY Dr. Donald H. Matthews and Dr. Thomas Jeffrey Miley
28 September/Peace in Kurdistan
Respect for Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdish Freedom Movement, “chained to the rock of Imrali,” a symbol of resistance, of fortitude and resilience, a responsible leader, a prophet, a man with a powerful political vision.

A vision that has inspired the revolutionaries in Rojava in Syria, and that fuels the Kurdish resistance to Erdogan’s tyranny in the southeast of Turkey (and beyond).

The heroic defence of Kobane caught the world’s attention, the movement’s will to struggle, its ability to mobilize the people for collective self-defence, to sacrifice and to die for a cause, and not just for any cause, for a good cause: the project of “democratic confederalism,” a project which represents the only alternative to the negative dialectic of tyranny and chaos currently tearing the Middle East apart, or, in Ocalan’s terms, the only alternative to “hierarchical and dominated civilization.”

https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/2016/09/28/review-of-abdullah-ocalans-manifesto-for-a-democratic-civilization-dr-thomas-jeffrey-miley-university-of-cambridge/
PRESS RELEASEThe Freedom for Ocalan Campaign fringe meeting at Labour Party Conference on 27 September 2016 in Liverpool
27 September/Peace in KurdistanThe meeting, entitled Building solidarity with the Kurdish struggle for democracy, equality and freedom is co-sponsored by the GMB, UNITE andPeace in Kurdistan Campaign.
Following the adopting of a strongly supportive resolution at the TUC conference on 14th September, this meeting will present firsthand accounts of the extraordinary purge under way in Turkey, from Kurdish women politicians who are at the sharp end of these repressive measures. The solidarity campaign has benefitted from the outset from the support of our newly re-elected leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has always supported the Kurdish movement and who is a patron of the Peace in Kurdistan Campaign.

CONFERENCES1. Solidarity message by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign to PYD 8th Congress held in Brussels

28 September/Peace in KurdistanThe meeting, entitled Building solidarity with the Kurdish struggle for democracy, equality and freedom is co-sponsored by the GMB, UNITE andPeace in Kurdistan Campaign.
Following the adopting of a strongly supportive resolution at the TUC conference on 14th September, this meeting will present firsthand accounts of the extraordinary purge under way in Turkey, from Kurdish women politicians who are at the sharp end of these repressive measures. The solidarity campaign has benefitted from the outset from the support of our newly re-elected leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has always supported the Kurdish movement and who is a patron of the Peace in Kurdistan Campaign.https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/2016/09/28/pyd-8th-congress-held-in-brussels/

2. Ross Greer: Support Kurdish democracy from Turkish persecutionPEOPLE IN SCOTLAND should call for an end to the war against the people of Kurdistan, according to Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer.

Greer, part of a delegation to the conference of Kurdish PYD party, wants pressure to be placed on the Turkish government to stop its bombing campaign against Kurdish target.

3. AFTER GENOCIDE: GENDERED TRAUMA, TRANSMISSION AND REINVENTION, YEREVAN SEPTEMBER 17-18-19, texts of two speeches by Meral Cicek, REPAK
28 September/Peace in KurdistanThe imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan named his in 2010 drafted defence writing “The Kurdish question and the Democratic Nation Solution: Defending the Kurds under the yoke of cultural genocide”. Many Kurds maybe found this warning exaggerated. Wasn’t the era of genocide in Kurdistan over? The 20th century has been a century of uprisings and genocides in Kurdistan.https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/2016/09/28/two-speeches-by-meral-cicek-of-repak/

EMERGENCY APPEAL FOR AFRIN

Life in Afrin

Weekly News Briefing

Jeremy Corbyn issues statement of support for the National Demo

Message from Jeremy Corbyn to Kurdish national demonstration in London:
“I’m sorry not to be able to be with you today, but I send a message of solidarity with today’s demonstration, and with the Kurdish people, under sustained attack across the Middle East.
The conflict in Syria has been the trigger for an onslaught against the Kurdish people, who are defending their autonomy and their rights.
We are watching closely the alarming events that have been unfolding in Turkey in recent weeks, including the killing of civilians and destruction of Kurdish homes.
Any negotiated settlement of the Syrian conflict must include peace and justice for the Kurds, including in Turkey. And the Turkish government needs as a matter of urgency to restart the peace process with the Kurds and respect the rights of all its people.
We call for an end to repression of the Kurds and justice for the Kurdish people throughout the Middle East.”

Destruction and Repression in North Kurdistan

Freedom for Ocalan!

On the 19th anniversary of his kidnap and imprisonment by Turkey, we renew our call for Abdullah Ocalan to be freed as part of a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.